Oats Rise to Five-Month High as Wet Weather in Canada Thwarts Planting

Oats rose to the highest in five months as unusually wet weather in Canada, the second-biggest producer of the grain, thwarted planting and slowed crop development.

Heavy rains “maintained high levels of soil moisture” across much of the southern Prairies, the Canadian Wheat Board said in a report yesterday. Crops seeded after yesterday probably will not reach maturity before the first frost, the CWB said. Oats have surged 46 percent this month.

“The historic wet weather in Canada continues, and the longer it does, the more damage that is done to yields,” said Shawn Hackett, the president of Hackett Financial Advisors in Boynton Beach, Florida. “The crop could be one of the worst in recent history. As a result, the oats market is in the process of rationing demand to allow that what does get harvested can cover demand until next year’s crop cycle.”

Oat futures for July delivery rose 10.75 cents, or 4 percent, to $2.79 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest price for the most-active contract since Jan. 11. Oats have gained for three straight sessions.

Russia is the world’s biggest oats producer.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Dreibus in Chicago at tdreibus@bloomberg.net.

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